A doctor convicted of beating his wife at their upscale Dothan in 2010 is seeking a new trial. The attorney for Dr. Andrew Osborne argued in court Thursday that his client was not fairly tried on felony Domestic Violence charges.

Joey Sheffield, who did not represent Osborne at trial, lists 22 reasons why a judge should grant a new trial. The most significant are ineffective counsel and documents Sheffield claims the defense either did not posses or didn’t use during the 2011 trial. Osborne was represented by attorneys Martin Adams and July Dowling.

Regarding the documents, Sheffield contends they show that Suzette Osborne suffered medical issues before the alleged attack that the jury was told resulted from violence for which Dr. Osborne was convicted.

“My personal opinion is if this case was tried again, with those medical records he would be exonerated,” Sheffield said following Thursday’s hearing. “How can you create an injury when the injury was already there?”

District Attorney Douglas Albert Valeska told the court he made all documents available to the defense before Osborne’s trial.

Court records show Osborne was sentenced to three months work release followed by 45 months probation. The conviction was later upheld by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals.

Osborne’s medical license was suspended but he later regained practicing privileges and now works at a hospital in Troy.

The couple divorced though there remains an unresolved civil lawsuit filed by Suzette seeking damages for “multiple instances of physical abuse at the hands of (Dr. Osborne).” Following his conviction Suzette Osborne told WDHN “Where I am right now does not compare with the hell I was living in.”

However, Sheffield said his client has been wrongly portrayed; pointing out Osborne has served his time and is working again as a doctor. “Dr. Osborne has continued to state that he’s innocent of all charges. So for him to be (reopening) the case tells me all I need to know about his motives behind this,” Sheffield said.

Circuit Judge Larry Anderson tentatively set a hearing on a possible new trial for early 2014.

Ken Curtis is the senior investigative/political reporter for WDHN. Contact him at ken@wdhn.com